The integration and delivery of high-definition interactive television and the possibility of providing several hundred broadcast channels to television viewers has allowed users to receive highly individualized content. This ability to satisfy multiple individualized demands is even more apparent with systems having video-on-demand and internet functionality. Indeed, in addition to seeking specialized broadcasting programs, users now desire individualized advertising and other secondary content. Unfortunately, several modern advertising systems force users to watch (or listen to) content for goods and services that are neither needed nor desired. As expected, consumers have become impatient and dissatisfied with these systems. Likewise, advertisers want to optimize their advertising expenditures by ensuring that specific advertisements are directed to the appropriate audiences. Specifically in regards to television programming, advertisers want specific advertisements to air during programming that is being viewed by those individuals most likely to be influenced to buy the advertised product, or otherwise respond in a desired fashion to the advertisement. U.S. Pat. No. 6,463,585, assigned to the present assignee, and herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, describes various targeted advertising systems.
Current targeted advertising solutions lack considerations regarding consumer privacy, access privileges, and security. There is a need to prevent profile data relating to a user or a household (for example, but not limited to: demographic, behavioral, and/or psychographic data) from being transmitted through a network to a remote location and to prevent profile data from being readily accessible by third-parties with access to the set-top box or other advertising delivery mechanism (e.g., a computer). Thus, novel systems and methods for improving the efficiency and security of delivering targeted content to different user locations would be beneficial to the art.